


No It Isn't

by Ellie603



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 3x18, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mack POV, Mack handles the developments in the fitzsimmons relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6733678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie603/pseuds/Ellie603
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz and Simmons are finally together... and it's Mack who's left to deal with them.</p>
<p>Mack's POV from 3x18.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No It Isn't

**Author's Note:**

> Because I need more Mack/Jemma friendship in my life and that scene (and the entire episode) were beautiful.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Mack,” Fitz’s voice came through Mack’s inner ear comm, “are you getting feedback on comms? Simmons, you hear that?” 

“Oh yeah, it’s terribly loud,” Simmons’s voice joined Fitz’s as the video shook and then disappeared, Fitz apparently having taken off the glasses that were sending Mack the video feed. 

“It’s probably best if we go offline to reboot,” Simmons said, clearly having already made up her mind to do just that. 

“It’s fine my end,” Mack said, confused, genuinely worried for a moment that there was a problem. 

There was a “Back in a jiff,” from Simmons, and then the comms went dead. 

Mack sat back in his chair and rolled his eyes. It was just like working with Hunter and Bobbi all over again. “Bad feedback on the comms, got to shut them off for a moment.” “Oh no comms went down for a minute there, not sure what that was.” “Mack did you turn off comms? No? Oh, that’s weird.” And the worst attempt, Lance imitating the crackling of an out-of-service phone and then telling Mack “we’re going through a tunnel!” all while Mack could easily see that Lance and Bobbi were still in the basement of the building they had been searching. Apparently the universe had decided that Mack needed to be surrounded by sexually frustrated agents who couldn’t separate work from their personal lives. 

But Mack couldn’t help but smile. He remembered walking into the lab on his first day at the Playground and seeing a curly-haired man standing alone talking to himself. He had watched Agent May approach the man and ask him a question but his response was stammered with huge gaps that he couldn’t seem to fill. He had grown angry and stormed away. 

“That’s Agent Fitz,” Coulson had said quietly. “Grant Ward left he and Agent Simmons for dead on the bottom of the ocean. Agent Simmons was fine, but Agent Fitz has been struggling, even more so now that Agent Simmons has gone. Hypoxia, aphasia.” Coulson had gazed at the spot where Fitz had been standing before he left. “Agent Fitz was, _is_ ,” he corrected himself, “a genius. Best engineer we have. And he and Agent Simmons were even smarter together.” And then Coulson had turned away, and if Mack hadn’t known better he would have thought the director was about to cry.

Mack had heard Fitz talk about the girl he liked who didn’t like him back, he had seen Simmons return and make Fitz flustered and frustrated, he had watched Fitz leave the lab to come work with him, but as soon as things had fallen apart, Fitz and Simmons had found their way back together. 

But then there was the monolith, and things were difficult again. Fitz had been so singularly focused on finding Simmons, even as he designed planes and made hands for Coulson. And even after he found her, it still wasn’t over. But then… it was. Now that Mack thought about it, lately Fitz and Simmons had been far more comfortable around each other than he had ever seen them be. Daisy had told him once when they happened to pass by the lab as Fitz and Simmons were working together, engaged in rapid conversation in front of a monitor, the smallest of smiles on their faces, that this was how she always thought of Fitzsimmons – best friends, finishing each other’s sentences, psychically linked. Daisy had smiled and said she was glad that at least some things were okay. 

Just thinking about Daisy wiped the smile off Mack’s face. She was his partner, his best friend now that he’d lost Hunter and Bobbi. They were a team, and he was going to do whatever it took to bring her home. 

After all, Daisy would be upset if she missed Fitz and Simmons finally getting together. 

“Back online and on the move,” Fitz’s voice returned to Mack’s inner ear comm and the video feed returned to the monitor. 

“Copy that,” Mack replied. Back to the mission. 

And it went about as well as any other S.H.I.E.L.D. mission – passageways not in the schematics, a skeptical scientist with armed guards, some insane Inhuman with fire powers. Mack really wasn’t surprised by this stuff anymore. 

“Oh, thank God,” Simmons greeted Mack as he made it back to the hotel room, her voice filled with relief. “Is Fitz with you?” 

“No,” Mack replied, trying to catch his breath. 

“But this is the rendezvous point,” Simmons replied, moving past Mack as though to go search for Fitz herself. 

Mack quickly stopped her and explained that the best course of action would be for her to stay put and wait for their missing teammate to return himself. 

Simmons sighed and turned away. 

“You okay?” Mack asked. He and Simmons had never really been close, but they were all a family really, the entire team. She cared about Daisy just as much as he did. 

When Simmons didn’t answer, Mack grew worried. 

“You see Daisy?” he asked, failing to stop the smallest bit of hope from invading his words. 

Simmons finally turned around and took a deep breath, her arms folded across her chest. “Hive,” she answered, “or whatever it is.” She took another breath. “I shot him. Doubt it did anything. Always said I’d shoot Ward.” She almost laughed. 

“You think we’ll get her back?” Mack asked, allowing his defenses to fall for just a moment. 

Simmons half smiled at him. “We have to.” 

“I guess sometimes it’s easier to think the world wants you to suffer than to believe it’s got your back,” Mack said, resigned, as he sat down on the edge of the sofa.

Simmons’s smiled for a moment. “You should tell that to Fitz; he thinks we’re cursed, which I know is ridiculous, but…” She sat down across from Mack. “I don’t know,” she finished, staring down into her lap. 

“So, how long have you two…?” 

“Oh no… no we… it’s not…” Simmons fumbled over excuses. 

Mack stared at her, almost smirking. “You know how many times Bobbi and Hunter pulled the ‘my comms are broken’ trick?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. 

Simmons smiled sheepishly and lowered her gaze. 

“Come on,” Mack continued, staring at his friend, his teammate, a woman he had seen get knocked down so many times but who never failed to get back up again, just as long as she had Fitz at her side.

“Right,” she said finally, “well, I, I don’t know… I suppose it’s very new.”

Mack smiled softly at Simmons and shook his head. “No it isn’t.” 

Simmons smiled and ducked her head. “I suppose you’re right.” 

“I’m really happy for you guys,” Mack said, leaning back into the chair. 

Simmons’s bashful smile grew wider. “Thanks… it’s… it’s wonderful.” Her face fell slightly. “I almost feel bad because all of humanity is at risk and Daisy’s gone, but, honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was this happy.” She looked up at Mack, unsure. “Is that bad?” 

Mack shook his head. “Not at all, Simmons.” He smiled slightly. “Daisy’d be happy for you guys. Hunter and Bobbi too.” 

Simmons’s eyes grew sad. “I’m sorry, Mack. You were closest with Hunter and Bobbi, and Daisy was your partner…” 

Mack shrugged. “It’s been a rough couple of months, but it’s the job.” 

“We’ll get Daisy back,” Simmons said, her voice reassuring. 

Mack nodded. “Someone’s gotta tease you and Turbo now that Hunter’s gone,” he said, smirking. 

Simmons groaned dramatically and threw her head in her hands. 

Mack laughed appreciatively as he stood up. “I’m gonna head out to the Quinjet and unload some supplies. Let me know if Fitz shows up, and call if anything happens.” 

“I will,” Simmons replied, nodding. 

Mack grabbed his bag and headed for the door. 

“And Mack?” 

Mack turned back to her. 

“Thanks,” she said with just the smallest of smiles on her lips. 

Mack nodded and left. 

Half an hour later, Mack still hadn’t heard from Fitz or Simmons. If Fitz hadn’t shown up by this point, Mack figured Simmons would have contacted him, so that meant either something bad had happened and Simmons hadn’t been able to contact him, or Fitz had come back and he and Simmons had… gotten distracted. 

Mack shuddered slightly at the thought. That was really not something he needed to visualize. 

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Fitzsimmons, hoping that at least one of them would be in a fit position to reply to him. 

Thirty seconds later his phone vibrated, and Mack found a text from Fitz, “Meet you in the Quinjet – 10 minutes.” 

Mack rubbed his forehead, sighing. Best case scenario: Fitzsimmons had lost track of the time talking, worst case: they had decided to take advantage of Mack’s absence and the nice Bucharest hotel room. Mack had a feeling it was the latter, and he really didn’t want to have to fly back to base with… that. He’d had more than enough with Hunter and Bobbi.

But as Fitzsimmons returned twenty, not ten, minutes later, looking very disheveled (obviously having partaken in Mack’s worst case scenario), but trading smiles, their hands clasped fast together, nothing short of young and in love, Mack couldn’t bring himself to be even the smallest bit exasperated with his teammates. They’d been through so much to get here; they deserved every moment of happiness they could find, regardless of the circumstances. He was returning to base with no scientist, no Daisy, no cure, but the smiles on Fitzsimmons’s faces, wider than any Mack had ever seen from either of them, made this trip more than worth it. Mack had to smile too.


End file.
